MasterChef Australia judge Poh Ling Yeow has shared a secret about how the food is assessed on the show.
Weekly challenges task contestants with preparing dishes for the judges to taste and critique.
In an interview with Punkee, Poh, 50, revealed the dishes are often ‘stone cold’ by the time they reach the judging panel.
‘So basically what happens is if you think about it if there’s 20 contestants and there’s four judges – at the beginning of the season there was five because Jamie was in the mix. It means there are over 100 tastings,’ she said.
‘So at some point the dishes are going to get cold.’
MasterChef Australia judge Poh Ling Yeow has shared a secret about how the food is assessed on the show
Poh explained the judges taste the dishes straight off the stove or oven so they have a good idea of the texture and flavour.
‘Straight after they’re cooked you’ll see us milling around with our spoons and we taste everything straight off the stove or oven just so we know the texture and the flavour of things when they were how they were intended to be eaten,’ she revealed.
The 50-year-old added the dishes are placed in a fridge for food safety reasons while each contestant waits their turn with the judging panel.
In an interview with Punkee, Poh, 50, revealed the dishes are often ‘stone cold’ by the time they reach the judging panel
Andy Allen was the only judge to return to the show this year after Melissa Leong was dropped and Jock Zonfrillo tragically died in April last year, just one day before season 15 was set to air.
Andy, 36, who first joined the panel in 2020, admitted he was unsure about returning after the devastating loss of Jock but ultimately decided to after realising it was what his friend would have wanted.
He was joined on the 2024 panel by MasterChef season one runner-up Poh, food writer Sofia Levin and French chef Jean-Christophe Novelli.
Poh explained the judges taste the dishes straight off the stove or oven so they have a good idea of the texture and flavour. Pictured Andy Allen
The 2024 series is still ongoing as contestants are vying for their place in the final, and Network 10 have already confirmed the future of the new judging panel.
A spokesperson confirmed the four judges will be returning for the 2025 series after they made a hugely successful debut this year, impressing the cast and viewers.
They said: ‘Judges Andy Allen, Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli will all be returning to the MasterChef Australia kitchen in 2025 to serve up another delicious season of Australia’s favourite cooking show.’
The 50-year-old added the dishes are placed in a fridge for food safety reasons while each contestant waits their turn with the judging panel. Pictured Jamie Oliver
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